Max Affinity
by Magnus Prime
Summary: Nate's friends try to help him put the past behind him.
1. Twisting the Knife

**Max Affinity  
** _by Magnus Prime_

 **Chapter One: Twisting the Knife**

"Sir? May I speak with you for a moment?"

Nate ducked down under a hail of gunfire but still managed to flash an incredulous look at his traveling companion. "Can it wait 'til later, Ada? We're kinda busy right now."

"Of course," she replied before calmly firing her laser rifle at the Gunners advancing on their position.

After another quick survey of their attackers, Nate popped up over the wall they were using for cover, sighted through his customized sniper rifle, and shot through the massive Sentry Bot in the midst of the attackers, hitting its fusion cores. He ducked down again and, a few seconds later, a huge explosion rocked the area, sending debris, flaming or otherwise, everywhere. "Wait here," he ordered his companion, before peeking over the short wall, narrowing his eyes to try to see through the thick smoke.

The smoke eventually cleared, showing Nate what he expected to see: The flaming wreckage of a Sentry Bot, surrounded by dead Gunners. As was routine, the pair picked through the mess of bodies, looking for anything salvageable.

"Would now be an acceptable time, sir?" Ada asked as Nate packed the last of the loot in their travel gear.

"Let me just…there!" Nate finished, stuffing a piece of leg armor in his backpack. "This should give Cait a little better protection the next time we're out."

The former Automatron bristled slightly at the mention of the gladiator but shoved it down, knowing from her time with Curie that her feelings were those of jealousy and would do her no good to obsess over them.

"All right," the Sole Survivor said as he clapped his hands together to clear off the dust before focusing his attention fully on Ada. "Sorry to keep you waiting; what's up?"

Ada shuffled her feet hesitantly. "Sir, we've traveled together for quite a long time, and…from the time you saved me from the Mechanist's attack on our caravan – I mean, Miss Cruz…I mean-"

"Ada? You okay?" Nate interrupted as politely as he could through the barrage of words. "You don't normally have this much trouble speaking your mind."

"I'm fine, sir," she blurted reflexively, then sighed. "Perhaps I should have waited until Curie could help me."

"You don't need anyone else to speak for you," Nate said consolingly. "Just think about what you want to say. If it's hard to say, take a deep breath first; that usually helps to clear my mind."

"Thank you, sir."

Nate watched as his synth friend closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling once, then twice. He was still amazed at what the Institute had been able to create. Part of him wished he hadn't destroyed the place, but…decisions have consequences.

Finally, her eyes opened. "I will admit that it's hard to describe precisely what I'm thinking or feeling right now. All I know is that I'm very glad to have met you. From rescuing me from the Mechanist's attack on my creator's caravan, to facing down Ahab by yourself to protect me, to finding that back door to her lair, potentially saving us a lot of trouble…" She cast her gaze to the ground. "I've realized that I've grown quite…fond of you."

"Thanks, Ada," Nate replied with a warm smile. "It means a lot to me to hear you say that. You've come a long way in such a short amount of time, and you've adjusted really well. I'm really glad you got to be a human…well, as close to one as you can."

She glanced up at him with an awkward smile, and his own smile faded as her smile took him back to his early days dating Nora. "I was…hoping to get closer to a…particular…human," she said, gazing at him meaningfully.

A sudden heaviness nearly overwhelmed him. Even though Kellogg was dead the pain of his loss remained. In fact, with Shaun's death, the pain had gotten worse. "Ada? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm not sure, sir," she replied, but the look on her face…

Nate sighed heavily, trying to flush some of the fresh pain away. "Listen, uh…"

"Do…Do you not desire companionship, sir?" She was really 'sir'ing him a lot more than usual today. "You've had many opportunities to get closer to one of us. Curie, for one, has been-" she cut herself off with a gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"What about Curie?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"N-Nothing. Please forget I said anything," the blue-haired girl said, pointedly avoiding his gaze.

He sighed heavily again before coming to a decision. "Ada, follow me, please."

"Yes, sir."

She followed him as he headed northeast to Graygarden. After a brief conversation with Supervisor White, they followed the tracks north for another stop by the Starlight Drive-In, where they spent some time meeting the new settlers and assigning them responsibilities. Finally they went northwest through the ruins of Concord until they reached Sanctuary.

"Why are we going this way, sir?" Ada asked as they stood at the northern path leading out of the settlement. In front of them she could see the path lead around the side of the hill in front of them, and she assumed that it led to the top.

He didn't answer, but started down the path and she followed. When they reached the top she noticed what appeared to be a large, metal, circular platform near a small hut. She knew from conversations with the others that Nate had come from a Vault, but… "Sir? Is this a Vault? The one you came from?"

"Stand on the platform," he ordered, though not unkindly. "I'll be right there."

She obeyed, and watched as he entered the hut. Through the window, she thought she saw him interact with something inside, and then quickly hurried outside to join her.

"Sir-AH!" She had started to say something, but was interrupted by the floor beneath them suddenly lowering into the ground. She looked over at him with surprised eyes, but relaxed when she saw his calm demeanor.

Eventually an opening came into view, and the floor stopped behind a wire mesh-type wall. The wall lifted, and Nate stepped from the elevator, heading toward a nearby flight of stairs. Ada looked around in wonder; she had never been in a Vault before, so everything was so new to her. But… "Something's not right…"

Nate said nothing but led her through several doorways, and Ada realized that something must have malfunctioned, locking the doors in their open position.

Finally, they arrived at a series of tubes, and Ada gasped as she saw people in them. "Oh my god…"

He stopped at the last tube – a pod, she realized – and leaned against it with one hand as he looked up into its window. He glanced at her as she hesitantly approached the pod before returning his gaze to its occupant. She came up next to him and looked in as well. "Ada…meet Nora. She's…my wife."

Her hands flew to her mouth as she took a step back from him. "Oh, sir, I'm so sorry! I never knew…"

"It's okay," he said softly.

"We have to get her out of there!" Ada exclaimed. "If you-"

"She's…dead, Ada," he said in an unusually husky voice.

"How….?"

"Did any of the others tell you about Kellogg? Nick would have been the most likely; he was with me when I killed the bastard."

"N-No, sir. They've mainly told me about how you've helped them…and, of course, I know about your fight against the Institute."

He drew in and released a shuddering breath. "When the bombs fell over two hundred years ago my wife and son and I were brought here, thinking we would be living underground until the worst of it blew over. Instead, Vault-Tec stuck us in these cryogenic pods. About sixty years ago our pods were deactivated and Kellogg came and took my son from Nora, and…" he bit his lip as he turned his face from his friend. "…when she resisted, he shot her." He thumped a fist against his wife's pod. "And all I could do was watch as he stole my baby and killed my wife."

"Sir…" she whispered, dumbstruck.

"After he took Shaun, he activated our pods again, putting me back under. I didn't wake up again until Shaun deactivated them again just a few months ago."

The pressure in her eyes told her that tears were starting to form. "Oh sir, I'm so sorry…I don't know what to say."

He allowed himself to look over at her, and she could see the moisture in his eyes as well. "Thanks, Ada. Just…thanks for listening. Now you know why I haven't gotten closer to Curie," he said with a humorless smile.

"Sir?" she asked somewhat cautiously. "If she's dead, shouldn't we…bury her?"

"Yeah, I should," he admitted. "But…I guess, for some reason I'm still holding out hope that she can be brought back. Maybe if I hadn't blown up the Institute…"

"You did what you believed was right, sir," the blue-haired girl said as she carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. "All of us believe in you."

"I know," he said. "It's just…hard."

As they headed back to Hangman's Alley, a tickle of a plan started to form in the young synth's mind…


	2. Honored

**Chapter Two: Honored**

"Sorry to bother you with this, General, but the Abernathys are having problems with ghouls again."

"Let me guess: Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup?" Nate snorted. "How many times do I have to clear that place out?"

"Hopefully this'll be the last," Preston replied sympathetically.

"I think you said that last time, too," the general of the Minutemen grunted as he grabbed his gear. It was then that he noticed that, other than the two of them, Hangman Alley was empty; even Dogmeat was nowhere to be seen. "Hey…where is everybody?"

"Out on patrol, sir," Preston said smoothly. "Listen…you mind if I come with you this time? The turret defenses you built should be able to hold things down while we're gone."

Nate studied his second-in-command for a moment. Something seemed strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it. So, he shrugged. "Sure; it's been a while since we've teamed up; it'd be a nice change of pace."

Preston gave his CO a relieved smile. "Glad to hear it, General."

* * *

From Hangman's Alley they headed northwest to Oberland Station. On the way, they intercepted one of Isabela's old Autmatron patrols and took it down, potentially saving more lives…for the time being.

"I'm tired of these damned things," Preston complained as they combed the wreckages for resources. "Oh, well; at least they're good for parts for defenses."

Nate grunted his agreement as he filled a pack with several circuit boards. He had been wanting to add better turret defenses to the Finch's homestead, so the boards were a godsend.

After a brief stop at Oberland to check its progress as well as a stop at Greygarden (where Supervisor White seemed more flirtatious than usual), they followed the tracks north. As they walked, Nate remembered that he had led Ada on a similar trip not too long ago. He then realized that he hadn't seen the former Automatron in a while. "Hey, Preston? Have you seen Ada in the last few days?"

"Of course, sir," the minuteman replied easily. "She'd come by to sleep, but she has been out a lot lately, on salvaging missions with Danse and such."

Nate thought that his second-in-command sounded a little evasive, but decided to not press the matter.

He smiled as Abernathy Farm came into view. He and the Abernathy patriarch, Blake, got along quite well and, even though he was tired of having to clear out the same place over and over again, the conversations with the farmer more than made up for the tedium.

"Hey, good to see you, friend," Blake greeted as the pair approached. "I want to thank you for thinking of me and my family."

"Um, you're welcome?" Nate replied, confused. "I understand you're having problems with ghouls again?"

"Yeah," the old farmer said as he scratched his beard. "Strange thing is, they seem to be coming from the north this time; normally we get them coming from Wicked Shipping…"

"Yeah, I know about that," Nate groaned at several memories.

"…but this time they seem to be coming from north of Sanctuary."

Nate's blood froze. "Vault 111? No…"

"General?" came Preston's concerned voice.

"Nora?" He started off at a jog, headed toward Sanctuary. It didn't take long for him to break into a sprint, making it difficult for his second-in command to keep up.

By the time Preston arrived at the Vault 111 entrance, the elevator had already descended. With a smile, he headed over to the nearby control hut, pulling a suit out of his pack as he did so.

* * *

The elevator couldn't descend fast enough for the Sole Survivor. He ducked under the gate as it raised and scrambled up the stairs. Heading down the hallway leading to his old cryo-pod, he half expected to find his wife transformed into a ghoul. What he found instead shocked him even more. "What…?

All of his friends stood in two lines along the sides of the pod room. At the far end opposite him, he could see Ada's familiar blue hair, swaying as she shifted anxiously from foot to foot. It was then that he noticed that they were all wearing Vault suits.

The first one on his right was the former Brotherhood Paladin. "Danse, what's going on here?"

"I'm sorry," he replied in his usual gentle tone, "I have been instructed to not say anything to you about this matter."

"Strong not fit in ugly suit," the giant would only say when asked the same question.

"Yer talkin' to the wrong girl," Cait replied.

Piper was just as evasive: "I only report on things after the fact, Blue."

"You'll find out soon enough, I promise," the synth detective said, also wearing a vault suit, much to Nate's surprise.

"I'm sorry, sir; I'm not at liberty to discuss the matter," Codsworth lamented.

"Not my place to say, kid," Longfellow intoned.

MacCready almost spilled the beans, though. "You've done so much for us, boss, that we-" he was cut off by Curie covering his mouth.

"There are some things you have to find out for yourself, no?" she said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sorry dude; I'm under a gag order," Deacon said.

"I'm just here as a representative of Goodneighbor," Hancock said. "Don't mind me."

Of course, Dogmeat simply barked happily.

Nate wasn't stupid; he knew that he was being led to his wife's pod, and he finally found himself standing before the former automatron as she stood next to it. "What's going on, Ada?"

"Just a minute please, sir."

A short time later, Preston joined them, standing at Ada's side, also wearing a Vault suit. He drew himself ramrod straight. "Group: atten-tion!"

Nate reflexively snapped to attention with everyone else, impressed with his subordinate's military demeanor.

"As you were, sir," Preston amended with an embarrassed smile. "The call-to-attention was for the rest of us."

"Understood," Nate replied as he relaxed to 'at ease'.

Preston pivoted to Ada, who responded in kind. "They're all yours, ma'am," he announced as they exchanged salutes. He then pivoted back toward the rest of the group and marched, eventually taking a place in a gap in the lines.

"If you would, sir," Ada said, Indicating the space next to her, which he took. "We are here to honor Nora, the wife of our dearest friend. We do not know much about her, but we can know that she must have been a wonderful person to have been married to our comrade-in-arms…"

As she spoke, Nate thought back to when he and Nora first met, to their first date, their first kiss…their wedding, the birth of Shaun…and had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

He had to swallow several more as each of his friends approached the cryo-pod and told their stories to Nora, each finishing with how Nate had impacted their lives. Understandably, Strong had difficulty with the concept of talking to a dead body but, to his credit, he didn't try to eat her.

"Sir? Would you like to say something to her before we proceed?" Ada prompted.

Nate rubbed his palms together as he approached his late wife. The truth was, things had gone so quickly that he really hadn't had time to think about it, from finding Kellogg to finding Shaun, helping his friends with their problems as well as protecting the Commonwealth from the Institute… "I…" Any possible words caught in his throat. "I…don't know what to say."

"Whatever is on your heart, Monsieur Nate," Curie encouraged.

He looked up to the face of his late wife, and was distressed to find evidence of decay on her cheek. "Oh, god…I'm so sorry for leaving you in there that long. I…need to move on, but I'm…I'm going… I'm really going to miss you, hon." He felt a tickle on his own cheek and reached up the wipe the errant tear away. "I wish I could have saved you from that bastard…I wish I could have saved our son…" he tried to continue, but the tears kept flowing, and he clenched his jaw and fists in an effort to make them stop.

He jumped at a gentle touch to his back and looked to find Ada gazing at him with a look of sympathy and sadness. "It's okay, Nathan; let it out."

"Dammit, Ada…" Nate ground through his teeth before grief finally overwhelmed him, dropping him to his knees as his friends gathered around, to support him to the best of their ability.

* * *

Blake wouldn't take 'no' – or caps – for an answer. "No, my friend, I insist; I'm giving you the land. My family would be honored if you would bury your wife here."

Nora was finally laid to rest next to Mary Abernathy, and Nate knelt at her graveside, barely hearing the others as they headed back to Hangman's Alley after expressing their sympathies one more time.

"Good luck, Ada," Preston, back in his Minuteman uniform, said as he clapped the former automatron on the shoulder.

She swallowed hard as she nodded and, as Preston followed the others back, headed cautiously to where Nate was placing flowers next to the headstone. "N-Nathan?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Finally figured out how to use my name, huh?"

She knelt at the end of Nora's grave. "It was force of habit at first," she admitted.

"Why were you so eager to bury my wife?" he asked rather abruptly.

The blue-haired girl flinched, but took a deep breath. "Because…I love you, Nathan."

"Trying to get the competition out of the way?" he asked bitterly.

"No!" she cried out before regaining control of herself. "I think…because I feel this way…I want the best for you... And...to see you hurting like this…"

He rolled back to a seated position to better see her face.

"Nathan?" She looked down at the grave. "Even if I can never have you…I want you to be happy…or, at least, not sad anymore."

His glare softened. "I see. Sorry for doubting you, Ada."

"It's understandable, sir," she replied. "Any of the four of us would want the chance to be with you."

"Four?" Nate asked with a furrowed brow.

Ada's head whipped up with a shocked expression. "Oh, no! That was supposed to-!" she blurted before snapping her mouth shut.

"Spill it, Ada," he demanded. "What's going on?"

Ada took another deep breath. "I am not the only one who is…attractedtoyou," she hurried. "Piper, Cait, and Curie have wanted to get closer to you, but have held back because of your wife."

"Really? Huh." Thinking back on some of their behaviors, it made sense. But… "I don't know what to say."

"I am sorry if my affection bothers you. I will try to suppress it if it does."

He rubbed his nose with the back on his hand in response to an itch. "You know, the funny thing is that it doesn't." He looked over at his friend with a small smile. "Truth is, I've actually been pretty fond of you since we first met."

"First met?"

"I like how you knew what you wanted, and that you were willing to do what you needed to in order to get it done," he explained. "Kinda reminds me of Nora."

She blushed as she looked at the ground between them. "N-Nathan…?"

"Come on," he said, getting to his feet. "Let's head back."

Ada looked up to see him with a kind smile and his hand held out to her, and she hesitantly reached out and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Y-yes, sir."

She started to release his hand but was surprised when he maintained his grip on hers. So, with a shy smile and a shuddering sigh of relief, she returned his grip as they started back home.

 _Rough Draft complete_


End file.
